Amadeus Xerxas
= Inquisitor Amadeus Xerxas - "The Sojourner" = "The one thing halting humankind from true greatness are the constituent humans." -Inquisitor Xerxas Amadeus Xerxas began life as a hugely fortunate individual, growing up in a rich family of ruling-class nobles, with uncanny abilities of pursuasion and leadership. Unbeknownst to him and his siblings, their 'gifts of leadership' were low level psychic powers and the families were constantly being depleted by the frequent Blackship visits. To prevent uprising, the seniors in the family explained this away as 'ascension' for the most powerful members of the family, gone to rule by the emperor's side. So long as the people of Asus Prime kept up their tithes and stopped any psykers becoming out of hand, they were free to carry out life as they wished. Xerxas was born a psychic blunt, and quickly grew jealous of his gifted family and fled when he was old enough to. He found assylum in the Schola Progenium and the skills it taught him, under the guise of an orphan from a wealthy background - the Thrones he stole before fleeing certainly helped grease a few palms. Eventually deciding to confront his family, he returned home to a grisly scene. His servants gone and livestock slaughtered, he discovered his family had turned to the Alien and away from the Emperor's grace. Multi-limbed, robed cultists with extended skulls threw themselves on his chainsword one by one, until he confronted his bloated corpulent brother, now a vile Genestealer Patriarch. Undeterred, he dispatched him and all his foul xenos servants. He was later picked up as an acolyte to Inquisitor Krow, who had been investigating the Asus Prime Incursion trying to discover who had single-handedly dug the cancer out from the inside. He saw Xerxas' steely determination, anarchic approaches and ultimately his faith in humankind as an ideal successor. Xerxas believes in mankind as a whole, but it is the individuals who make it weak. As such, bodies will pile up under those in his command so long as there is a greater goal in mind. Consequently, Xerxas frequently forgets the reasons why he is saving mankind from itself and often goes off on long soul-searching missions, earning him the nickname 'Sojourner' among his peers. Being a Blunt, he has grown up with people disliking and fearing him, often for no reason, so has learnt not to expect a warm welcome wherever he goes, so always travels and operates alone. It has taken many years to finally accept that he needs help in his investigations, especially when creating a pile of bodies towards the end goal us often detrimental to the objective. Subtletly and guild is lacking from Xerxas resumé, a role which Xerxas' first and most trusted acolyte, Interrogator Dune, fills most adeptly. As a result, Xerxas relies on Dune almost symbiotically to carry out recruitment and delegating investigations to the newest acolytes. To the greenest recruits, the Xerxas Collective is an organisation operating under the Imperium's radar, as it may be years or decades before they ever discover that the Collective is headed by a man named Xerxas, or that he is even an Inquisitor. This allows Dune complete control over what knowledge is passed down the ranks, and if a particular Cell is compromised, it can be painlessly erased from history with little to no knock-on effects.... usually... Known Associates * Commander Laddik Hern * Interrogator Ezekiel Dune * 'Tartarian' * Takoda Tedd * Omar Anoke * Magos Biologis Lingus Quinne * Korpik Feth